In an AU Far Far Away
by Krystal Anime
Summary: What if the Empire was never formed, Alderaan was never destroyed, and Din grew up with his family? Two different universes. One dance. Total fluff. Cara/Din.


A/N: What if the Empire was never formed, Alderaan was never destroyed, and Din grew up with his family? Two different universes. One dance. Total fluff. Cara/Din.

The grand ballroom was perched high atop a peak in the snow-dusted mountain range. Its design clearly Alderaanian despite the fact that this world was not the home of its maker. Tall windows, gentle force fields, and the midday sun kept the ballroom at a comfortable temperature for the many Alderaanian royals, foreign dignitaries, and their staff visiting off-world.

A dozen guards in identical uniforms lined the inner walls. Their presence more a formality than anything. There was no danger here.

Din was one of them. Manning his post in the northwest quadrant. He recognized her as soon as she walked in. It was hard not to notice her in such a stunning golden dress. She was drawing attention from the crowd nearby as she walked past them, scanning the ballroom. Her gaze came to rest on him, and she smiled. Even from this distance, she had spotted him from all the other guards in uniform. Din felt a familiar feeling inside him. It was the same one he had felt the first time they met. His nervous excitement grew when he realized she was walking straight to him. If he had not been on duty, he would have met her halfway and pulled her into a passionate embrace.

Carasynthia reached him and stopped to admire him for a moment. Then she dragged a playful finger across his armor's breastplate, "I like this look on you."

Din struggled to keep his expression neutral and professional. A concealing helmet would've been helpful right about now. But his uniform didn't have one that completely covered his face. Instead he leaned in to whisper to her, "I thought you promised you wouldn't do this while I'm on duty."

"I did no such thing," she smiled as she traced other features of his armor, admiring their intricacies.

"People are looking at us, Cara."

"Let them look."

"But you are a lady of Alderaan, and I'm just-"

"I know your social status, Din. We already had this conversation. I'm an adult and I can marry whomever I choose. With or without my royal peers' approval."

"And what about your parents'?"

"They're starting to come around. You're very likable."

He was relieved to hear that. He had been worried that he had blundered their impression of him the last time they met. He smiled, and she returned it with one of those gorgeous ones that always made him weak in the knees.

She drew even closer, her voice softening, "Din, I want to travel with you. I want to see the worlds beyond the core worlds."

"I'd like that," he sighed, relaxing in her embrace. Duties and social pressures forgotten. She was close enough to kiss now. He was glad his helmet provided him enough access to grace her lips gently with his own.

She pulled away and winked playfully, "And there's one more thing..."

Before he could ask what it was, she had his hand and was pulling him towards the center of the ballroom, where the dancing couples waltzed. "Cara, I can't dance," he protested as he tried to pull out of her grasp. He failed and was nearly dragged to the dance area. She was surprisingly strong. It was another feature he admired.

Suddenly they were there. She stopped and turned to face him. Walking closer, Cara placed their hands in the proper spots and began to move. Here, on the dance floor, in guard's armor, he was very much out of his element. He did his best not to step on her feet as he tried to follow along. He missed a step and nearly crashed into her. They laughed and tried again.

Soon he was getting the hang of it. He had always been quick on his feet, a skill honed from hunting the fast and often dangerous beasts in the forests outside his village. Perhaps he'd teach Cara how to hunt one day. He suspected she'd pick it up about as quickly as he was learning to dance. Maybe faster.

"I can't wait for you to meet my family," Din told her.

"I can't wait to meet them." Cara smiled back at him.

"My little sister will call you a princess. Fair warning."

She chuckled, "Who knows, maybe in another life, I am a princess." Cara gazed into his eyes thoughtfully, "Din, do you ever wonder … if there are alternate lives? With alternate versions of us?"

"I don't know." he answered softly, "But if there are, I hope we're together in each one."

She smiled and leaned in to rest her head on his shoulder as the song came to an end. Din sighed. Life had been good to him. To both of them. Sure, there were some challenges they still had to work out. But they would work them out. He knew they had a bright future together.

In another time and universe, the warm, bright colors of the ballroom were replaced by the dark blue hues of its ruins. Its gentle force fields gone. Its windows shattered. The people the ballroom once held had long abandoned the structure, leaving it to decay in the forces of nature.

Cara Dune sat on the remains of a reception counter near the entrance, gazing across the ballroom, out the broken windows at the flicker of distant lightning in the grey clouds beyond.

She turned to her Mandalorian comrad and asked, "How's it going?"

He was leaning against the remains of a stone pillar, arms crossed. Their search for the kid's species had led them here, scavenging information from an old data warehouse within this abandoned structure. Although it was certainly not the last remnants of Alderaanian architecture and data, this one was by far the least visited. With a tilt of his helmet, he glanced down at the progress indicator on his device that was connected to the reception counter's terminal input. "It's going slowly."

"Sounds like we've got some time then." She pushed herself off the counter and took a few steps towards the middle of the ballroom.

Din watched her. Even in her armor, she seemed to belong here. This place was built for those with grace and royal blood. He knew Cara was from Alderaan. He didn't know what her social status had been there.

Cara regarded the ballroom, "I came here once as a child."

"Really?"

"Yes. It used to be beautiful, and I-" She stopped herself and chuckled, shaking her head.

The sight of her smile caused a familiar feeling to well inside him. It was the same one he had felt shortly after the first time they met. She had flashed him that smile, and suddenly he felt something that he hadn't felt since he was a teenager with a crush. With practiced effort, he pushed the feeling away. He had decided, when she joined his quest months ago, that attraction had no place in his life. Love had only brought him scars and heartache. And it nearly got the kid killed when he was distracted by it on Sorgan.

The kid.

He realized the kid had wandered off.

A sudden noise had both of them drawing their blasters at the pile of rubble not too far away.

The noise continued to warble oddly, but Cara already lowered her blaster, her hand coming up to her mouth to stifle a laugh.

Still not ready to drop his guard, Din moved over the counter and towards her to see what she was looking at behind the rubble.

The kid was there. Standing next to some long, flat apparatus, which was apparently producing the noise. Above it, elaborate holo-characters played instruments. The kid looked delighted by them.

Din slowly lowered his blaster with a sigh.

The warbling faded as the machine warmed up, producing clear music.

Cara chuckled.

"Looks like he found some entertainment." Din holstered his blaster.

He watched the kid for a moment, then turned around and scanned the area again. The noise had put him on edge and he needed to do something to reassure himself that they still were alone here. He decided to patrol the perimeter again. A few minutes later, Din completed the circle, and was back at reception area. Cara was moving gently to the music, smiling at the kid who was copying her.

"I remember this song," Cara told him.

He watched her sway to the soft melody. Her movements as enchanting to him as the song. He felt himself becoming distracted again. So he moved past her, heading to check on the download's progress.

Unaware of his mood, she caught his hand as he went by and said playfully, "Come dance with me."

"I don't dance."

"Come on. It's been a childhood dream of mine to dance in this ballroom as an adult. I might never get the chance again. Indulge me." she pulled his hand and led him just inside the large circle that was etched into the floor. For a moment, he thought about pulling out of her grasp and heading back to the reception area. But he didn't. It probably would've been a waste of effort anyway, he told himself, she was very strong. It was another feature he admired. Perhaps the feature he most admired. Her strength was an asset, and the reason he and the kid were still alive. Her beauty was a distraction. One he'd have to learn how to handle. Sometime. Eventually.

Once inside the circle, she stopped and turned to face him, a playful smirk on her lips. Part of him rejoiced when Cara placed their hands in the proper spots on their bodies. He knew he could trust her with his life. He had double checked to make sure they were alone here.

_What's the harm?_

They began to move. Here, on the dance floor, in armor, he was very much out of his element. He did his best not to step on her feet as he tried to follow along. He missed a step and nearly crashed into her. They laughed.

"This is wrong," he chuckled and shook his head.

"Why?" she asked, smiling.

He thought about her question a moment. Life had been cruel to him. The cold heartlessness he faced each day made something as warm and innocent as a dance seem out of place. A fluke. The sheer number of heartaches and betrayals he had survived made him believe that dances and romance must be the dreams of fools. A false hope. A trap to be avoided.

And yet, bringing someone into your life ... someone you loved … someone you could trust … also made it worth living. Maybe someday, he'd tell Cara how he felt about her.

He looked at her. That smile was so close now. She was so close. He suddenly became hyper-aware of where his hands were on her body, and hers on his. Maybe that someday could be now.

"Cara ..." and for the second time in months, he wished his helmet had less coverage and more access.

She must have inferred where his thoughts were from the way he had said her name, because she brought a finger up to gently caress the side of his helmet, "I've been meaning to ask, is kissing forbidden, or would it be acceptable if my eyes were covered?"

Din froze. He wasn't sure he had heard her correctly. But after replaying her words in his head several times, he was certain there was no way he could have misinterpreted it. Then, he allowed himself to be thrilled that she felt the same way.

"Din?" she asked, and the tone in her voice indicated that she was worried she had misinterpreted his feelings towards her. He realized that by halting, he had accidentally given her the wrong message.

He needed to clarify, but the words wouldn't come.

Instead, he released her hip and brought his hand to caress the side of her face. She leaned into his hand and then reached up to hold it.

Suddenly he had an idea.

Din turned around and looked over at where the kid was still playing. The child's back was towards them, his focus entirely on the holo characters that he was delighted with.

Din turned back to Cara, "Close your eyes."

"What?"

"I trust you."

She looked like she was about to ask for clarification. When she heard the click-hiss of his helmet's release, she understood, and closed her eyes with a smile. Din regarded her with his own eyes for a moment before meeting her patient lips with his own.

He had meant for it to be short. But one kiss merged into two. Then three. Then four. He quickly found that there was still more of her mouth that he wanted to explore. Cara seemed equally curious about his.

Finally, with great reluctance, he pulled away and put his helmet back on.

"Cara … maybe …" he stopped himself. He didn't want to push her.

"You wanna finish this once we're back on the ship?"

He was both elated and a bit worried, "Do you think we're moving too quickly?"

Cara considered this for a moment, "I've been with you for months. We've fought through so many battles together. I like the way you fight. I like the kind of man you are. I like the mission. And I think we work well together."

"So do I." Din sighed, "And … when this mission is over? When we do find the kid's people or destroy the remaining imps after him, then what?"

"Then, I figured we could settle down on a backwater planet somewhere. Set up a shelter. Spend our days living off the land and sipping spotchka."

"And farm krill?"

She shared a laugh with him, "Maybe."

"Though if that's really the life you want, I don't think I can compete with someone like Omera."

Din shook his head, "She's not for me. I have a feeling I'll always attract trouble wherever I go. Even without the kid. I don't want to bring someone like her into a life like mine. That wouldn't be fair."

Cara raised an eyebrow, "But me-?"

Din held her closer and tipped his helmet until it touched her forehead, "You're different. You're strong. You're resilient. You can protect yourself. And you're well acquainted with a life on the run. Still … you deserve better, and if you don't want this life anymore, I understand."

This close to him, she could feel his breath reflect off his breastplate and caress her neck, "I want to be with you, Din. It's hard to find someone you can trust out here. Even harder to find someone you can love. I don't know what the future holds. But I want you in mine."

The song came to an end, and the holo characters flickered and disappeared. Clearly disappointed, the kid waited a moment for the music to reappear. When it didn't, he wandered sadly away from the machine, and walked back over to the other two members of his family.

Din reached down to pick his son up.

"Million Worlds." Cara said.

"What?"

"The song. I remembered the name of that song. It was 'Million Worlds'. Its the idea that there are millions of separate universes playing out different scenarios of our lives."

"Is that really a thing?"

Cara shrugged, "Who knows."

Suddenly the device beeped its completion chime from the reception area. Din began to walk over to it. Cara took one last look around the ruined ballroom before following him.

When she got there, he was disconnecting his device from the terminal input.

"Its a nice thought." she commented.

"What is?" he breathed as he struggled to free the last connection from his device.

"Thinking how different things could have been if a few things in our lives had been changed for the better."

With success at last, he dropped the last wire on the ground and stood up. Device in one hand, kid in the other. He held the device out to her and she took it. Then they began their walk back to where he parked their ship.

"I don't know if any such things exist." Din said.

"Alternate universes?"

"Yes. But if there are," he reached and found her free hand with his own, intertwining their fingers, "I hope we find each other in every one of them."

FIN


End file.
